I think this will show you how.
No I haven't, and I was just on their site yesterday looking at grill cloth, looks like it's easier to work with than the bedliner. After reading the pdf sheets on the product site and reading through the forum link you provided I believe it will be a better option so I believe I'll give it a try.
Thanks for the links! Now I just need to choose a tint color and grill cloth, really liking the purple Soldano head and cabinet on Andertons YouTube videos but I'll have to think on that for a while.
You can also use some Krylon Faux Speckling Finish spray cans on wood. Home Depot, Lowes, and Walmart may have them in stock.
I've used different types of Krylon for projects (wood) that were stationary with pretty good results but I think the bedliner would be more durable for a portable cabinet, especially with my age increasing rather rapidly, I tend to bump into objects more often when carrying a load than I used to 
I have a 112 cabinet and 6U rack I bought 1 ½ years ago that the tolex is coming off of, the adhesive is bad, and another 112 cabinet that is raw wood. I'm thinking of covering them with a pickup bedliner coating like this
https://www.durabakcompany.com/pages/other-uses
Has anyone tried this or something similar?
I bought some black water-color paint for the LEDs and took it down a billion lumens.
😂😂
wow, that is a fantastic detailed explanation Howard. Hopefully Ray will get everything set up perfectly from that 😎
I've gleaned so much helpful info over the years here but very seldom do I feel qualified to offer suggestions, I owe this community big time and if I can be even a tad bit helpful to someone else here that's a miracle in itself...
When I looked up your EM12, I laughed hard. That magnet is huge!!! Probably sounds great for a variety of sounds from a Kemper.
It's a back breaker, 16.3 lbs, the original Kones were 8.6 lbs which made my total cabinet weight around 23 lbs, now it's 31 lbs! I really wish the Kone would have worked out for me but sadly it just wasn't meant to be.
OK Alan, I have no trouble to get rid of the mixer as long as I have the same direct control. I will follow your instructions and see where it leads me to and then I'm sure I'll get back to you.
Thank you for now! Ray
This would be your best option, taking the mixer out of the equation in a live situation removes a lot of obstacles and potential problems which may have been the cause of the volume jump issue from your original post, I'd take Wheresthedug advice from #51 and V8guitar from #55. Having a consistent overall volume from rig to rig is paramount as it will make your life much easier from this point forward as discussed in #45.
Here are some suggestions from my perspective after reading all the comments up to this point, but keep in mind I'm not familiar with the Roland foot controller and you would want to check your midi settings in the System settings by pressing the System soft key and reviewing pages 5-15 and write down any setting that pertains to your controller. Also go to the Output menu by pressing the Output soft key and write down your settings for Low and High Cut on page 5.
Getting a fresh starting point might make it easier for you, if this is something you are interested in doing try the following procedure.
You may not want to do the steps under Systems Menu, especially if it might cause an issue with your foot controller
The following steps are for the System Menu
1. Press the System soft key to enter it's menu and navigate to page 1.
a. Press the second soft key above the LCD screen where it says Init Globals below it to reset Factory settings in system.
Once this is done it's time to change a few settings, again these are my suggested recommendations for a fresh starting point, others may chime in with better suggestions, some of the following may already be set by default.
2. Press the System soft key to enter it's menu, go to page 3
a. Make sure the first and second soft key above the LCD screen are lit up, they check on the Rig Autoload (first soft key) and Rig Button
Morph (second soft key).
3. Check your settings on pages 5-15 that might pertain to your foot controller and set accordingly
4. Check Date and Time on page 16 and change if necessary.
5. Exit Settings menu by pressing Exit soft key.
The following steps are for the Output Menu Settings
1. Press the Output soft key to enter the Output menu and navigate to page 1.
a. Make sure the first soft key above the LCD screen is lit up so the Main Out -12 db is checked (per V8guitar recommendation on #55).
b. Make sure the third soft key above the LCD screen is lit up so the Monitor Stereo is checked.
c. Set Main Output to Master Stereo or Master Mono with the first rotary knob below the LCD screen (depends on whether you need a mono or
stereo signal sent to FOH), your diagram on #48 shows stereo to FOH.
d. Set Monitor Output to Master Stereo with the second rotary knob below the LCD screen, these will be the Monitor Out and Direct Out in your
diagram that will now go directly to the inputs of your QSC K8's.
2. Navigate to page 2 of the Output menu.
a. Make sure the first soft key above the LCD screen is off so the Main Out Link is unchecked.
b. Make sure the second soft key above the LCD screen is lit up so the Monitor Out Link is checked, this will allow you to turn the Monitor Out
volume up or down as needed with the Master Volume rotary knob on the front of your Kemper (per Wheresthedug suggestion from #56).
c. Make sure the fourth soft key above the LCD screen is off so the Headphones Link is unchecked.
d. For a starting point set the Monitor Volume to -18.0db with the second rotary knob below the LCD screen.
3. Navigate to page 3 of the Output menu.
a. Set the Bass, Middle, Treble and Presence to <0.0> with the corresponding rotary knobs below the LCD screen.
b. Make sure the first soft key above the LCD screen is off so the Monitor Cab Off is unchecked.
4. Navigate to page 4 of the Output menu.
a. Set the Bass, Middle, Treble and Presence to <0.0> with the corresponding rotary knobs below the LCD screen.
5. Navigate to page 5 of the Output menu.
a. Set the Low Cut and High Cut to your desired setting.
6. Navigate to page 6 of the Output menu.
a. Set the Pure Cabinet and Space>HeadphOnly to your desired setting.
7. Navigate to page 7 of the Output menu.
a. Set the Aux In page to your desired setting.
8. Navigate to page 8 of the Output menu.
a. Make sure the first, third and fourth soft keys above the LCD screen are off.
b. The second soft key should already be lit up from section 2 b above.
9. Navigate back to page 3 of the Output menu.
10. Press the Exit soft key, now when you press the Output soft key it will open on page 3 so you can adjust Monitor Output eq as needed with the press of one button.
With these settings in the Output Menu you should have a good starting point, as discussed previously choose a profile you use the most as a baseline to work off of, now using that profile turn your QSC Gain knob up until you reach performance level. As far as rhythm vs solo volume, you might set up a separate profile that is slightly louder and switch to it for your solo or use the rhythm profile and add something like Pure Booster or Green Scream Boost to kick in and bump up the volume for your solo, again I'm not familiar with your foot controller and how it operates but these things are very easy to do with the Kemper Remote.
Note for QSC K8: In the Home Screen Menu of your QSC K8 set the inputs A and B to Line, that way it won't matter which one you plug the Kemper into. Under Factory Presets I would choose between LIVE (For live sound reinforcement and vocal clarity) or STAGE MONITOR 1 (For most stage monitor uses, reduces excessive bass build-up on stage) whichever sounds best to you. I would also set the Sub Menu to NO SUB, all the Delay Menu settings to 0.00 and Reset the EQ Menu to Default which is Flat.
I did download the owner's manual for your mixer and looked through it last night, one thing I would suggest is that you avoid connecting your Kemper to the first 4 channels from the main xlr L&R outputs as phantom power is always on for these inputs on the soundcraft mixer. From the Kemper manual: "The XLR outputs are protected against 48V phantom power fed by a mixing desk. However, you should avoid feeding phantom power into the PROFILER if you want the best audio quality." The 1/4" Monitor and Direct Outs are not affected by phantom power when connected with a 1/4" to 1/4" cable to the soundcraft mixers combo jack's on these 4 channels.
I hope this might help,
Howard.....
Knowing this all now I guess I have to start at the source: my profiler. If I bring all gains there to a basic level and set my incoming gains on the mixer accordingly, am I right that only the volume level of the cabs matter and should be set to maximum solo level, wich can be reached or controlled by the by the two volume faders on the mixer!
If this is right what would be a normal live acceptable gain setting on the profiler and accordingly on the mixer which give more than enough room and control by the faders and thus eliminate jump volumes?
BTW almost all my rig volumes at the front are all set to 12 o'clock.
I would use your go to profile as a baseline, the profile that you use most often. Try setting your monitor output to -18db for a starting point and work from there. I haven't seen the mixer model listed but some have a solo button which when engaged on a particular channel will allow you to see the input level of that channel on a led meter. What model mixer do you have? If I'm familiar with it I'll try to give you some pointers in getting unity gain through the signal chain.
Also keep in mind, profiles vary in volume when made, putting each rig at the same volume setting won't give the same output volume. Have a baseline profile and switch between it and another profile at or close to performance level, using your ears adjust the other profile to the same perceived volume, just switch back and forth between them until the second profile sounds close then move on to another profile and start again. You might just do a few at each setting, I have to because of ear fatigue but you may not have worn your ears out as bad as mine are!
I think I would address your original issue first though and see if changing the gain structure in your rig will yield a more usable amount of control without big volume jumps, if that is the issue and it can be fixed moving forward will be much more pleasant experience.
The question is: am I connecting the wrong way (A) and should it be B's input. I don't understand what a line-level mixer is...and do I have one....?
The answer is in the diagram itself,
QSC Input B is line level only:
That would be the signal coming from your mixers left and right output or from the Kempers main left and right outputs or the monitor out and direct out (monitor out and direct out work as a stereo pair when the Monitor Out in the Output menu is set to Master Stereo) which I'm assuming that is how your Kemper is set.
QSC Input A can be set as a line level input like Input B or as a Mic input for dynamic mics, you do not want Input A set to mic for your setup.
Gain structure can wreak havoc on signal levels, I do sound system installations and troubleshooting for existing systems. One of the main issues I address at venues is gain structure, simply having unity gain set up across a system generally fixes half of the issues, the rest is usually eq related or something like compression on an input or output that needs adjustment or turned off.
Try working with your gain settings first starting with the Kempers output volume, to hot of a signal gives you no room to work as well as to low of a signal, from the volume jumps your describing I would make sure it's not to hot. You need a consistent level at you input gain on the mixer from the Kemper, a consistent level from your input gain to your channel fader and a consistent level from your channel fader to your master output fader and consistent level from the master output to your QSC input. The same goes with the input level of the QSC and its output volume, if the signal through the chain is relatively equal, not to hot and not to low, middle of the road, your adjustments when moving the mixers fader up and down should not be so drastic as described, you need the adjustments to be more gradual without hugh jumps, hence a unity gain strategy. I hope this might help, it will also be very dependent on your profile levels being pretty consistent from one to another.
For quite some time now I've used a powered QSC K8 (1000W class D) pretty light cab with a handle bar for my powered Profiler. A good cab but I guess not really intended to be used in combination with a profiler. So I'm looking for a new cab: not a big one but a handy and rugged one with enough handling power which matches my profiler and delivers an even better sound .
Anyone for a perfect suggestion?
Are you unhappy with the sound of the K8? There are suggestions, lots of them, but no perfect one as sound is subjective and personal for each individual. I bought an non powered rack in 2017 and plugged into the effects return of a solid state combo amp for almost four years, I spent more time playing than tweaking. I had tried my EV ZLX112P but didn't like it and had no other reference source available to compare with to hear but I felt I was not using the Kemper in a manner to take advantage of it's tonal potential. In 2021 I decided to go with a Kone loaded in my own 112 open back cabinet and a class D power amp (TC Electronics Bam200).
For one year I tweaked settings and tried a couple thousand profiles but never achieved a tone that came close to resembling what some users have posted on YouTube with the Kabinet or their own cabinet loaded with a Kone, I actually purchased three Kone's in the course of 15 months hoping for a different result but alas that was not the case. So I went on the hunt to find a better solution, I drove 160 miles round trip twice to try a passive Kemper Kabinet, once to try it with my guitar and Kemper and the second time I took my cabinet loaded with a Kone to compare the two as I thought my cabinet could be the bad link in the signal chain but that wasn't the solution for me, so I reasoned it may have been my power amp that was the bad link.
My next try was a 150 mile round trip to a store that had the Headrush 8" and 12" cabinets but that wasn't the solution for me. QSC was my next option to try but at the time no one had a K8 or K10 in stock so I purchased the CP8 and took a few days working with it, no matter what I tried I could not get the fizz out, it wasn't the solution for me. I figured that I was not an individual that would ever get along with a pa speaker as a monitoring solution which brought me back to wondering if my power amp was the culprit so I purchased a powered Kabinet with high hopes it would remove any bad links in the signal chain, but after a few days with it I gave up, it just didn't sound right to me.
My next attempt was to try a normal guitar speaker but find one that didn't have as much tonal character as say a greenback or V30 since my first four years seemed less stressful when using the combo amp, again more playing than tweaking. I purchased an Eminence EM12 and liked the results I was hearing but still felt I could benefit from a different power amp so I purchased a SD PowerStage 700, I really have wanted a stereo rig since selling a stereo combo I had years ago. I did try the new amp with the two Kones just in case and it did sound better to me than my previous power amp did with them but not as well as the EM12. I now have a second EM12 in a box waiting to load in another matching open back cabinet that I need to finish, that's my personal perfect solution, I no longer record nor do I see a time where I will need to plug my Kemper into a pa system, I now have the most versatile rig I have owned in forty years as well as the best sounding!
Quite a long post I know but I see many people on the forum who are on the quest for tonal bliss through some sort of monitoring solution, some achieve it with frfr cabinets, some with pa speakers, some with a Kone or Kabinet, some with studio monitors or even headphones, some with guitar cabs, so my opinion is a perfect suggestion or solution doesn't exist, the solution will vary depending on the tastes or needs of the individual. I will suggest though, if at all possible, try before you buy or purchase from a company that has a good return policy, both the Kemper Online Store and Sweetwater here in the states where very accommodating and gracious with me when I returned products with zero issues, I wish you the best of luck in your search and hope your journey is not as long as mine has been.
Thanks Ruefus , I know I've read the tap tempo section (page 74) and the parallel path section (page 76) but apparently have overlooked the beat scanner section inbetween, catch tidbits all the time reading the forum, now if I could just remember them🤪
Kemper manual page 75
Beat Scanner
The Beat Scanner is a nice alternative to the TAP button; instead of tapping, just keep the TAP button, or foot switch pressed to activate it. Now, continue playing guitar. The Beat Scanner algorithm listens to the rhythm of your playing and will detect the bpm in a few seconds. You don’t need to play a special beat - any riff should suffice, as long as it is played with a degree of accuracy. Avoid playing prominent triplets or dotted notes, as this might fool the Beat Scanner into selecting a wrong tempo. When the tempo is set to your satisfaction, just release the TAP button or switch, and the tempo will stay constant. You can create any tempo between 80 and 160 bpm. The Beat Scanner is not able to differentiate between half or double tempo. For instance, for a tempo that could be either 70 or 140 bpm, it will always choose 140 bpm.
If you haven't done it yet download Rig Manager, in the window on the left in Rig Manager are folders provided by Kemper from several venders, go through and try these out as there are a few good higher gain profiles mixed in, then an overwhelming number to dig through on Rig Exchange. As stated above, take time with the manual and play around with settings in the Kemper to learn how they affect the profiles sound, you'll thank yourself later.
I plugged into a combo amp for several years but it had an effects loop, I could use the non powered monitor out on the Kemper and plug into the effects return on the combo amp and bypass the amps front end and use its power but I dont see an effects loop on your milkman amp.
Ruefus gave a good example for hooking up from your speaker out on the Kemper but you would be altering your milkman amp slightly and could affect the resale value. You could get a speaker cable and cut one end off and put a ¼" female connector on it, then unplug the speaker cable from the milkman and hook the new cable from the Kempers speaker out to it without altering the milkman.
Edit: dmatthews gave the same advice above, I was typing and didn't see it post, sorry to repeat an answer.
This guy addresses that same scenario with the same components in the first two and a half minutes of his video, have no personal experience with the gear myself but I find his video reviews helpful at times.
Did it boot back up?
I have had different anomalies but my unit still functions fine. Examples; error code on led screen that says contact support and instructions to exit the error code screen, power down then back up with no apparent problems afterwards. Turn the unit off from browse mode but it stays on, turn knob back to browse then off again and unit shuts down with no apparent problems afterwards, the reverse has also occurred powering up. It has happened 8 or 10 times in 5 years so I just look at it the same as I would a computer, a glitch.
caught Ernie Isley, with the Isley Brothers yesterday on TV, PLAYING A Kemper Toaster
It's at a point now that it's no longer uncommon to see them, every genre and age group has embraced the technology to some extent, it's a great tool, very versatile and extremely compact, but it's still fun to spot them.
I saw an interview on YouTube with Chuck Garric and Tommy Henriksen from Alice Coopers band lately from about three years ago, they had moved to Kempers. I found it interesting that both of them use a couple of profiles and the Kempers effects and call it good to go on tour, a simple change over from analog. It's made me start looking really hard for one amp that I can get a clean, crunch and lead that sound good and feel good to me when playing, then forget about the rest and just play. There are to many great profiles to choose from and it's become a hindrance for me, I like their solution and think it's worth trying.
External Power Amps Driving Unpowered KEMPER Kabinets
If you want to use unpowered KEMPER Kabinets but have no PowerHead nor PowerRack, you need an external power amplifier. Any solidstate amp wil l work. Using a tube power potentially sweeten the sound too much.amp will change the frequency response and Mono/stereo setup with PROFILER Stage and external power amplifier.
And as stated above, instrument cables from the Profiler outs to the power amp inputs.
Speaker cables from the power amp outs to the Kabinet inputs.
Add one of these and give it a try since you already have one,
https://www.sweetwater.com/sto…-1-4-inch-ts-cable-3-foot
Also go here and download the Main Manual 8.5 and Addendum 8.7 and take advantage of the video tutorials.
Welcome and have a blast with your new rig!
